by Anura Guruge

As I posted here 2-days ago the ‘National Park Service’ (NPS) on their Website has this banner proclaiming ‘Acadia National Park‘, 1916 — 2016, Centennial.

That, however, is a bit of poetic license — and I am sure the NPS knows that Acadia has NOT been a National Park for 100 years — as yet!

On July 8, 1916 the area south of Bar Harbor was established as the Sieur de Monts National Monument. Not a park, but a Monument — as is the case with ‘Canyon de Chelly‘, one of my most favorite places in the world, ever. See below for the distinction between the two.

It only became a park on Wednesday, February 26, 1919.
[Kind of ironic. Though this ‘creation’ would have happened in Washington, D.C., this would have been the dead of winter at the Park per se.]

It was the SAME DAY that the ‘Grand Canyon‘ was also established. So that is special.

But it was NOT called ‘Acadia’ in 1919! That only came to be 10 years later, on January 19, 1929. It was created as ‘Lafayette National Park‘. Here is the NPS brochure to ‘Lafayette National Park’ from 1921.

On page 3 of the brochure you can see this:

Interesting description of the Park. Doesn’t make it sound that appealing to visit.

Wikipedia sums it all up quite succinctly.

Click to ENLARGE and read here. Use link above to access Wikipedia entry for the Park.

Distinction between a National Monument and a National Park.

Click each image to ENLARGE and read here.

What the ‘National Park Service’ says. At: http://www.nps.gov/cong/faqs.htm

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The ‘Sierra Club’ has a ‘better’ description. From: vault.sierraclub.org/planet/199611/nationalpark.asp

Related posts:
++++ Check ‘Acadia’ tab/page at top ↑ ↑ for lots of other posts & pictures. 

by Anura Guruge